After 16 Years, Tim Ho Wan's Famous Baked BBQ Bun Finally Gets a Sibling

(SPOT.ph) Can you imagine a dim sum feast without Tim Ho Wan's Baked BBQ Pork Buns to give you that ol' reliable comfort? If it isn't your first time, you know exactly what I'm talking about: the crisp, sugary cookie-like crust that gives way to a char siu filling and the glossy, sweet-and-umami that coats the lips with each bite.

The buns are so consistently made, so distinctly and unmistakably theirs, that Tim Ho Wan has received 15 consecutive Michelin awards (a mix of Stars and Bib Gourmands) from 2010 to 2025, and was recognized as "the world's most inexpensive Michelin-starred restaurant." I don't think I'm jumping the gun here when I say a 2026 award will soon complete the grid of red Michelin plaques at their Sham Shui Po branch. It won't be a surprise, but rather expected.

What's not expected—or is expected, but came nonetheless surprising? After the Baked Pork BBQ Buns made their debut and became the dim sum icon that they are, the restaurant has finally birthed its sibling... with a full 16-year age gap.

Meet the Black Truffle Baked Chicken Bun. Fashionably late, but hey, you know how the saying goes, all good things take time.

Also read: Top 10 Pork Buns in Manila

It’s hardly shocking that Tim Ho Wan has a fiercely loyal following for their dim sum baskets. But loyalty alone doesn’t future-proof a brand, particularly in an F&B landscape that changes its mind with every swipe.

So, what's the strategy? Stay rooted, but not uncompromising. The kitchen holds on tight to its Cantonese foundations while incorporating new ingredients—enough to intrigue a younger crowd without alarming the traditionalists.

"I think we were actually just looking around at what other different options we had. One thing inside [the baked bun that we considered] was not the truffle, but to come up with a chicken product. We wanted to create some contrast, " shares Tim Ho Wan's Global CEO Sheng Lee.

In this case, the restaurant's use of truffle and chicken gives a striking difference from the OG, both in visuals and in taste. Whereas the Baked BBQ Pork Buns are yellow and have char siu as their main protein, the Black Truffle Baked Chicken Buns have a charcoal-tinted crust and use chicken as the meat. It's more or less the same traditional techniques applied, but with a different personality this time around.

During a media visit to Tim Ho Wan’s newly-opened 10th branch in Mikiki, Kownloon, Hong Kong SAR, what was meant to be just a celebration and an introduction to their new dishes quickly turned into an unserious, just-for-fun debate over which is the better bun. And it came as no surprise that it was a clean split: Some are understandably loyal to the OG, while some were more than adventurous enough and preferred the new buns.

I was certain I’d side with the classic, as someone who's rarely impressed when it comes to any dish with truffle, but the plot twist is that I do love the Black Truffle Baked Chicken Buns more. I would straight up get the three-piece Black Truffle Chicken Buns (P228) on my next visit. If you’d rather not pick sides, just go for the Twin Buns (P148), which gives you one of each—because why argue when you can have both, right, Team Switzerland?

As part of the restaurant's efforts to launch new items to make it more exciting for diners, there are other new items on the menu aside from the Black Truffle Baked Chicken Bun. Some are available in the Philippines, others are worth booking a flight to Hong Kong for.

There's the Crispy Red Rice Roll with Shrimp and Roselle Sauce, which is, thankfully, available in both Hong Kong and the Philippines. This is a spring roll that uses silky steamed rice noodle sheet—one that magically still has bite to it—and comes stuffed with juicy shrimp. While I find that it's good on its own (yes, even without rice or noodles), you should try every so lightly dip it in the fruity roselle sauce.

If you're flying to Hong Kong anytime soon, do yourself (and me) a favor and order the Steamed Chicken Rice with Wine Sauna. This is a Lunar New Year-special of rice slowly cooked in broth until sticky, fragrant, and flavorful; then enhanced with rose liquor and topped with chicken thigh meat, mushrooms, and red dates. Then there’s the Good Luck Crispy Rice Cake, a unique spin on the traditional Cantonese nian gao (or tikoy, as Filipinos call it). Imagine tikoy—but deep-fried to golden crispness, drizzled with sweet syrup, and finished with walnuts and sesame for crunch. Fingers crossed these two items make it to the Philippines soon!

Tim Ho Wan has long been about staying true to its Cantonese heritage, with roots grounded in Hong Kong. Chef Mak Kwai Pui and Chef Leung Fai Keung, former chefs at Four Seasons Hong Kong, founded the brand with the idea that Michelin-level dim sum didn’t have to come with fine dining intimidation. What it needs, maybe, is competent chopstick handling—and I'd argue that even that's negotiable.

Since its full acquisition in 2025 by the Jollibee Group (JFC), Tim Ho Wan has been scaling up globally without losing its identity—be it in the Philippines or in the restaurant's growing footprint in the United States and Australia. Each new store is meant to carry the same DNA that built the brand’s reputation: true-to-form Hong Kong flavors, value-for-money dim sum, and efficient, no-fuss service.

For more information, check out Tim Ho Wan Philippines' Facebook page.